ABOUT TRAMWAYS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2144, 9 May 1914, Page 6

ABOUT TRAMWAYS

ELECTRIFYING- THE KELTJVItSE LINE. Tramways, and cvwytlupg-pertaiMttg t<< them, as they aM> i-fr Sydney, were investigated. by Mi'. J, Da-rlitift, manager of the Kelfi-urne Tj'amvrsiy Company, <?!i hi's recent trip io Sydney. • In conversation with a Dominion reporter yesterday, he sqid that Iris trip was a business fine, to gain .information as to the best. method of applymg electricity as a- motive power tai the Kelbunio line. It had alnsidy been decided to disptoso with steiifi), aiid to iisp electricity. Possibly ft might' he decided to use okctrie power for haul-, iug or winding gsiar instead «t steam, ■or the electric power might .ho applied to motors on the trams. In any event, the cables would still he retained. In Sydney they had the fetter system'in operation on the BaliifaiU r<iitfo. frpift the Darling Street Wharf. The ear : ran ou a- cable, and inidergrouiid, he-low the litwSi ran a ballestetL truck ,«ti tiiclicd to tl.ie otter end of Iho cable', to act us a counter-weight. fa : tho ! K<?!tmrno line, of course, tiio soflnter- , Weight now was the other -ear.' The ; Isahr'ain system kid been in ope.rsiilon I .for nine years, and it had ptoved | factory, imt the gratis Aero was only >113 iii eight, i?horens 011 the Kriburno line it was -mid itt five. This diffeeneo ; I lui.ght prove an obst-adfl.ili iho way of > adopting any sttoh • system lk-re, hut ! thai a lid other difficulties W%'e efighi- . coring problems to ho ! While in Sydney ho investigated the • running of tramways generally, alid | ■ especially was he interested m the speed j . with which rash 'traffic was handled. j From a well-kiiowii racecourse 38,000 | people wore taken away -in 011 c hour j 1 by "the trams. The; methods aitd ex- j 5 jioditioi-i were) marvellous, but it Was . liotiecabla that t-hfi aot-heritios were Mot j hampered- thwo by by-laws as they were here, For instance, it was no uncem- \ nioti thing te see -attached lo tt l&ttg [ car, to carry -130 people, two or three trailers, \ and this in hasy streets at tush koutt. Pw greater expedition at all tho termini a-ro Vnops round winch every car as -it- arrives goes, and is rcjvdv sfc -oiicg to move along tho return There cof.hl lie no piling up or trains at the dead-end, as there mightbe in?re when ears had to step and come bad; on to the other fee tb-ro-ngk ] points. Onr 'regulations hero pfeventoi i the cou-iniMiou of these loops, esce.pt. " in pke»s where there was a great deal i 'j of s-pnec. whereas in Sydney they were I raado in any street of moderate width.